...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...pandemic, was allegedly used by some to purchase expensive luxury items such as Rolex watches and new homes, Politico reported. So far, the apparent fraud is just a small portion of the loans given out, but it still shows how easily government-run programs can be abused.
"The Justice Department has brought more than 40 cases involving false applications for more than $170 million from both the Paycheck Protection Program and another federal lending vehicle. And the Small Business Administration’s inspector general’s office says it has ’initiated hundreds of cases involving potential fraud’ in the two programs," the outlet reported. "Officials are targeting people who submitted false applications with the SBA — mostly through the PPP, which offered loans to employers that can be forgiven if they agreed not to fire workers. Prosecutors are also focusing on the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which relies on funds directly from the government, not private banks."
The Justice Department has opened a reported 40 cases involving false applications — totaling more than $170 million from the PPP and another federal lending program. On September 1, Politico reported, House Democrats said they found "red flags in nearly $3 billion in Paycheck Protection loans after checking the information that borrowers provided against a federal business registration database."